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Suicide of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
The 'Suicide of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold '''occurred on April 20, 1999, at approximately 12:08 PM, right after they had killed 12 students and one teacher as well as injuring 21 others at Columbine High School. Eric Harris leaned up against a bookshelf and positioned his Savage 67H pump shotgun between his legs and the barrel inside of his mouth before pulling the trigger, blowing off the back portion of his head. Dylan Klebold stood on his knees and aimed his TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun at his left temple before pulling the trigger, a 9mm bullet cut through his brain. Not dying instantly, Klebold likely suffered from involuntary movement while his lungs filled with blood, causing him to drown. Both Harris and Klebold died feet away from ten of the victims they had killed in the Columbine High School massacre. Before he shot himself, Dylan Klebold lit a molotov cocktail and tossed it at a desk right beside the place their bodies were found, it only partially burned the top. Background By 12:02 PM, both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had reentered the library. The room was officially empty of surviving students, except the unconscious Patrick Ireland who had been shot twice in the head and once in the foot, and the injured Lisa Kreutz. Once inside, they both engaged in another firefight with the police and rescue services in the parking lots below. No individual was struck. By 12:08, Patti Nielson, who was hiding with a few other teachers and staff in a break room (this included student Brian Anderson), would allegedly hear both Eric and Dylan yell "One! Two! Three!" before gunfire followed; although she would later recant this statement and say this was not true. Eric Harris had shot himself in the roof of the mouth with his Savage 67H pump-action shotgun, and Dylan Klebold had shot himself in the left temple with his TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun. Both died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in front of a bookshelf not far from the second-floor library windows. After regaining and losing consciousness several times after being shot by Klebold, Patrick Ireland began to crawl to the library windows. Upon doing so, he began hearing gurgling noises that appeared to be coming from a few desks to the left of him. In Dylan Klebold's autopsy report, it was later discovered that he may have been capable of some involuntary movement after his fatal gunshot, and aspirated blood was discovered in his lungs, leading to the conclusion that these noises may have been coming from Klebold. Ireland eventually made it to the windows, where he caught the attention of the SWAT team down below, who caught the bleeding student as he plunged from the library windows and into their arms while standing on an emergency vehicle. Eighteen-year-old Lisa Kreutz remained in the library keeping track of time by the sound of the school bells, until she was evacuated by a rescue team at 3:22 along with Patti Nielsen, Brian Anderson, and the rest of the library staff who hid in the break room. Conspiracy Theory: Eric Killed Dylan Since the Columbine High School massacre, the perpetrators' suicides have been one of the most controversial topics. After a photo was released in a 2002 issue of the National Enquirer showing Eric and Dylan's bodies, experts put the pieces together and noted that Dylan was left-handed and more than likely shot himself with his TEC-9, as the bullet that killed him was found to be consistent with 9mm ammunition. However in the photos, the TEC-DC9 semi-automatic handgun is not visible, it is tucked under his left leg with the sling lying over his chest attached to his left shoulder (he was left-handed, and wore a fingerless glove on this hand). Many people began to argue how unlikely it would be for Klebold to shoot himself and for the gun to fall to his right, so they looked at the possibility of Eric Harris killing Dylan. As ridiculous as it may sound on some terms, a rather awkward and grueling moment occurred in the Basement Tapes where Dylan mistakenly revealed he was part or half Jewish, and Eric allegedly replied: "That's too bad." According to Judy Brown, mother of Brooks Brown, she saw the tapes and believed at that very moment that Eric may turn on Dylan. Some believe that if Eric did perhaps choose to shoot Dylan, Dylan may have chosen to back out of the suicide plan; and that the gun that was used to take Dylan's life was not the TEC-9, but instead Eric's Hi-Point 995 carbine rifle which also used 9mm ammunition. However, this theory seems to have been fully debunked, as it was later revealed that after the SWAT team had reached the library and cleared the area of hostiles they had checked the body of Dylan Klebold for a bomb, possibly by rolling him over, so his body was never in it's original place when the photos were taken. Autopsy Reports Eric Harris' autopsy report concluded that the cause of death was due to massive head injury secondary to a high energy gunshot wound involving the roof of the mouth, or the palate, consistent with that of a shotgun. This wound was found to be consistent with self-infliction. Dylan Klebold's autopsy report concluded that the cause of death is due to brain injuries secondary to a close contact, large caliber, through and through gunshot wound involving the left side of the head. This wound was found to be consistent with self-infliction. The autopsies were performed by a forensic pathologist in the Littleton area named Ben Galloway. Notes * The blood on Eric's pant-leg suggests that Eric killed himself first. * The "one, two, three" count-down has been used in a couple of Columbine-based films, notably ''Duck! The Carbine High Massacre (2000) ''and ''Zero Day (2003).